A Torah Commentary on First
Corinthians 13-14 and 16:
Interpreting the Text in Light of
Its Old Testament Roots
by
Roland
H. Worth, Jr.
Richmond, Virginia
© 2011
Reproduction of this book for non-profit circulation by any electronic or print media means is hereby freely granted at no cost—provided the text is not altered in any manner.
If accompanied by additional, supplemental material—in agreement or disagreement—it must be clearly and visibly distinguishable from the original text.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter Thirteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Themes Developed (3)
Old Testament Precedent for the Themes of This Chapter
(10)
Explicit Quotations: None.
Possible Allusions/Similar or Parallel Concepts (10):
13:3: Without love the greatest self-sacrifice is valueless (10).
13:4-8: The characteristics of love in the Old Testament (11).
13:8-10: Does the Old Testament speak in terms of
the
gift of prophecy coming to an end (14)?
13:11: A time to grow up (17).
13:13: Seeing ourselves “face to face” (17).
Historical Allusions: None.
Problem Texts (18)
13:1:
Did they really speak in the tongues of angels (18)?
13:1: The “sounding brass” and “clanging
cymbal(s):”
What were they
(19)?
13:1-3: Paul as the personal exemplar of the
miraculous gifts
he
describes (21).
13:3: The limits of extreme self-sacrifice and
spirituality as a
means to please God (22).
13:4-7: The mind-frame of love: What love means in
behavior rather than abstract theory (24).
13:8-10: When miraculous gifts will pass away
(37).
13:13: Do all three enduring entities (“faith,
hope, love”)
continue
into eternity or just love (43).
Notes (45)
Chapter Fourteen—Part 1: Themes and OT Precedents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Themes Developed (57)
Old Testament Precedent for the Themes of This Chapter (75)
Explicit Quotations (75):
14:21: Isaiah as precedent for speaking in tongues (75)
Possible Allusions/Similar or Parallel Concepts (77):
14:1: Desiring spritiual gifts, “especially prophecy” (77).
14:2: The person who speaks in a foreign
“tongue” can speak
only “to God” since “no one understands him” (77).
14:3: The prophet “speaks edification and
exhortation and
comfort
to men” (77).
14:8: The blowing of trumpets (78).
14:15-16: The need to engage in one’s singing with
“understanding” (78).
14:16: Saying “Amen” to indicate agreement or
concurrence (79).
14:25: Nonbelievers being intellectually
compelled to admit
God’s presence among His people (79).
14:25: “Falling down on [the] face” as an
expression of humility,
respect, and reverence (80).
14:27, 30: Waiting for others to speak first (80).
14:31: The purpose of teaching being done one
person at a time
(rather
than simultaneously) was so that all would be
benefited (81).
14:32: Self-control over the use of one’s miraculous gifts (81).
14:34-35: The “submissive[ness]”
of married women taught by
“the law” (81).
14:36: The Corinthians
were expected to obey Paul’s teaching
because
it was given to one and all and was not a special
demand imposed on them alone (82).
14:38: A time to stop teaching (83).
14:40: Maintaining decorum in public worship (83).
Historical Allusions: None.
Chapter Fourteen—Part 2: Problem Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (84)
14:2: The nature of tongue speaking on
Corinth: Ecstatic
expressions
or genuine languages unknown to
the
speaker
(84)?
14:3: The main nature of “prophesying:” “foretelling” or
“forthtelling,” prediction or teaching (91)?
14:14-15: Personal involvement in Holy Spirit guided
prayer and
singing (92)
14:16: The nature of “Amen” (94).
14:22-25: How can tongues be a “sign” to unbelievers
(14:22) but
the
teaching/prophesying they hear leads to an acceptance
of
the gospel message (14:24-25) (95)?
14:24-25: How literally are we to interpret the
“secrets” revealed
by prophetic teachers (96)?
14:26: Holy Spirit revealed “psalms” (97).
14:26: Congregational participation in the service (98).
14:29: While “prophets” spoke during the service
“let the others
judge”
(101).
14:30,
32: Supernatural gifts were
controllable by the
recipient (102)
14:32: Why the plural “spirits of the prophets”
(105).
14:34-37: Women were not to exercise their
supernatural gifts in
the church assembly (108).
Notes (121)
Chapter Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Themes Developed (136)
Old Testament Precedent for the Themes of This Chapter
(XXX)
Explicit Quotations: None.
Possible Allusions/Similar or Parallel Concepts (149):
16:1: Charity for the needy among God’s people (149).
16:2: Prosperity as coming from God (152).
16:7: The conditional nature of all human plans (153).
16:8: The feast of Pentecost (154).
16:13:
The admonition to personal steadfastness (154).
16:14:
Having all behavior motivated by love (155).
Historical Allusions: None.
Problem Texts (156)
16:1-2: The place of the collection: at home or in the
assembly
(156)?
16:2: The frequency of the contribution (160).
16:2: The
proportion to be given in the contribution:
as one
has been “prosper[ed]” (160).
16:2: The purpose of the
contribution: for the benefit of needy
believers; a separate contribution for local needs (161).
16:10-11: Why might the Corinthians “despise” Timothy (168).
16:12: Why was Apollos
unwilling to follow Paul’s advice
and travel to Corinth (169)?
16:15: What is the “ministry to the saints” that
the “household
of Stephanas” had dedicated itself to (170)?
16:17-18: What was it that Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and
Achaicus did for Paul (171)?
16:22:
The use of “Maranatha” in the closing words
of the
epistle (172).
Notes (173)
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Preface
In chapters 7-12 Paul dealt with three core
issues:
1)
Morality--both in regard to particular behavior (sexual, chapter 7) and
in general (lessons to be learned from the Jewish Exodus from Egypt, chapter
10).
2) Food offered to idols—either in a pagan god’s
temple complex (chapter 8)
or in a private home (chapter 10).
3)
The proper approach to the church worship service—by coming
appropriately attired and by not turning it into a time for eating and
drinking (chapter 11). Closely tied to this was the plea for esteem and
honor toward all the varied gifts of the Spirit, a principle applicable whether
exercised in or outside the formal church assembly (chapter 12).
Sandwiched in between these various issues,
Paul defended his own right to be respected--whether or not he received
financial support for his gospel labor—and he ground this in his ongoing
pattern of doing everything he could to adapt, to not be an obstacle to others
accepting what he had to say (chapter 9).
In other words, “never make the issue me”—in regard to any of these
various subjects he discussed. The issue
was what was right or wrong and not the fact that Paul said it.
In the final chapters of his epistle
he stresses the need for love (chapter 13):
a lesson which, if they had grasped, would have ameliorated or removed
their internal divisions. This serves as
an excellent bridge between his earlier discussion of supernatural gifts in
general (chapter 12) and practical regulations and rules on their use in the church
assembly in particular (chapter 14).
After this he moves to the closest thing to a strictly “doctrinal
chapter” that is found in the entire letter, the resurrection of Jesus and us
from the dead (chapter 15). Even here he
draws out the practical, moral implications of what might otherwise be
pigeon-holed by them as “abstract truth” and of no relationship to daily life.
Having dealt with such a wide
variety of matters, he closes (chapter 16) with a plea for their assistance in
raising funds for the destitute Christians in Jerusalem and with various short
comments and admonitions both about his future plans and his desires for
specific individuals among them.
It should be noted that chapters 13
and 15 are disproportionately longer than they were originally intended. In a brilliant case of “stumbling over my own
feet,” I somehow managed to substitute the text of chapter 2 for that of
chapter 13—not only destroying the original but duplicating it in my
“back up.” Hence it had to be
reconstituted, using as the foundation version 3 of this book.
Although I am
more than pleased with the results, it also, unfortunately, resulted in a
doubling of the verse 3 length and 10,000 words over the lost version 4! On the other hand, there is much “down to
earth,” realistic discussion of the nature of love—and the other subjects Paul
touches on here—than are found in many published texts so I feel confident that
even the unexpectedly long chapter should reward the reader’s time very well.
Unfortunately
Chapter 15 has had to be “spun off” to be the last volume in this series. Chapter 15’s revision had already held up the
finishing of the 1 Corinthians volumes for many months, since it was necessary
to include material that was totally missing in version 3. The result should interest the reader for it includes a
significant volume of data providing a partial analysis of a new theological
trend that seems to be picking up far more “steam” than I would ever have
expected it. Hence this material will
hopefully provide the reader with material relevant both to traditional
controversies surrounding the text as well as this “new theater of action.”
In spite of
the desire to include this chapter, that material is already longer than the
contents of chapters 13, 14, and 16 combined—not to mention still unfinished as
the quarterly deadline for this material draws ever closer. Indeed the expansion of that chapter provided
the opportunity to re-examine one of more of the other final chapters from the
same research sources, expanding the length of certain of that material as well.
Hence it is
my hope that the expanded materials will be of even greater value to the reader
than the original form would have been.
Note: The footnotes in this volume do not include
anything more than author and page numbers when the original mention of a work
was in the first or second volume. The
Bibliography for all three volumes is at the end of this one. Chapter 15 will have a Bibliography strictly
for the materials utilized there.
There will be a certain inconsistency in page numbers between certain chapters,
where they were later subdivided
into multiple chapters. This was done
because the web site indicated the length exceeded its guidelines for
individual files. Even so, the already assigned
page numbers from the originally undivided form,
should still prove useful to help a researcher find the place they wanted to
come back to.